Dear Mr. Ignatieff

It’ll be late by the time you read this. The end of a day that could have ended better. Polls didn’t look great this morning, but who could’ve predicted the historical collapse of Canada’s most decorated political machine? Now, the voting stations have closed, ballots are all counted and the bleeding has finally stopped. Wounds like this need iodine. It’ll sting at first but cuts need to be cleaned if you expect them to heal.

THIS IS NOT TOTALLY YOUR FAULT.

Two years ago, you rode a red-tide of insider support to Liberal glory. Surely you’d connect with voters better than your predecessor. You were a new man. A powerful man. Entering parliament convinced your Ivy League grasp of political process would have Harper on the ropes. You landed a few shots in the early rounds, but in the end you were out-hustled.

Heck Iggy, I have to say it. If you want a promotion show up to work. Show up and be a team-player. That way when your boss (the voting public) reviews your record; things don’t look so sinister. You spent too much time behind closed doors. Too much time working on secret bids to seize control. Ottawa was built on back-door deals but you broke rule number one: you got caught. This gave the Conservatives everything they needed to destroy you. They painted you as an outsider. An affluent intellectual American trying to subvert democracy and the image stuck.

However, there are silver linings in this storm cloud. You’ll see some familiar faces in the unemployment line and some new faces in your old office. Gilles Duceppe and the BQ took it on the chin. Voters rendered the Bloc’s platform obsolete and gathered behind Marvelous Mister Mustache and the surging orange crush. Ralph Goodale managed to hold his seat as a lone and beleaguered western-Liberal; score one for the red team!

Your party may have lost ground but at least it was in the name of progress. Progress? In a Harper majority? Yes, it is possible. Elizabeth May took a seat for the Greens and the NDP has shown themselves as a legitimate National third-party option. You lost your Toronto riding and were denied the Prime Minister’s chair. Over the coming days, expect to hear from Liberal-insiders less and less. You’re going to have a lot of time on your hands. Maybe you should write a book.